Alexis Garavaryan, CEO of the publisher behind award-winning J'RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Kepler Interactive, comments on the pricing on 2025's Game of the Year, and why, at $50, it costs less than most AAA games of similar size and quality.
In an interview with the BBC, Garavaryan explains Kepler Interactive's philosophy on game pricing, and on the qualities that players look for when making their purchases, saying that he thinks "player taste is also adapting," when it comes to the games they choose to buy.
"I think historically there was always some sort of space in terms of the visual fidelity," he says. "I think there is less importance given by players on how high the visual fidelity is when you play a video game today. I also think the size of the experience, the depth, the number of hours you get out of the content is maybe less important than how exceptional, how interesting, how novel the experience is."
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 offers something novel, by mixing classic old-school JRPG staples, like epic storylines and synergistic turn-based combat, with French flair and a modern twist. However, despite offering gamers exactly what he believes they value most, as well as the visual fidelity and large amount of content we've historically valued, the publisher still decided to price it at a "lower" cost.
"I think ultimately we've seen a number of larger companies increase prices quite regularly," Garavaryan says. "We try to think, 'what do we think the price should be?' And then we price it lower, so that when players buy a game from us, they feel like they're getting a bargain. We want them to feel like we are respectful of their money, respectful of their time, and that fundamentally, every time they buy a game from us, they're getting a great deal."
He goes on to discuss how this pricing encourages "trust" with players, and that the publisher is "excited for players to be able to play five, six different experiences with the same amount of money that a traditional AAA game would bring them."
Ultimately, Garavaryan's view on pricing comes down to the current market saturation. "I think we are living in an industry where players have access to exceptional video games on a weekly basis," he says. "If you want to deserve their attention, their money, I think you need to bring something to the table that's truly great and truly special."
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